Colony Chapter
 

Hey all,

Last year as a freshman, I really was only interested in one fraternity. I was a legacy too, and had several friends, but some upperclassmen didn't like me I guess. I didn't get a bid in either fall or spring rush, so I'm done with them.

Now, there is a new fraternity coming to campus, with a big national reputation. I just wanted to get some input on how I can put myself into the best position to receive a bid.

I haven't heard anything official from the University, fraternity, IFC, or anything, but by some googling I found the facebook group for the "leaders" of the Colony. I didn't know if I should contact them now or if that would seem desperate. Just don't want to mess anything up.

Does the FB group have a line that says "if you are interested in XYZ, join this group"? Or is it a closed group that you have to be invited to?

If it's the former, join. If it's the latter, wait until school gets started up and see what's happening in person. Do you know any of the guys involved in it personally?

It's an open group with just 4 guys in it, who all appear to be national office staff guys.

Not much info is on it.

The group info says this...

"(fraternity name) is expanding onto (blank) University starting in June. We will be recruiting upperclassmen throughout the summer time and will start our full recruitment September 6th. There will also be an active recruitment for an advisory team consisting of (fraternity) alumni and Friends of (fraternity).

Nobody I have talked to has said they have heard anything. Nothing has come out from the University yet either.

Just because the group has a good national reputation doesn't mean you are going to like the people in the colony. Additionally, just because the group is colonizing doesn't mean you are going to receive a bid. If you have a personality or character issue that may have prevented you from joining the first group, that may cause you not to get a bid to this group.

Edit: Totally missed your response above. If they are advertising that they are recruiting in the summer, I would definitely contact them.

Sometimes an interest group may be formed with the blessing of the fraternity. But it is not official yet in that it is listed as an interest group or potential colony by either the fraternity or the school. The campus IFC may not know about it either. While this doesn't happen all that often, it is not unusual. They could be transfer students to your school who are members of the fraternity and want to start a chapter there. Or simply students who want to bring a new fraternity to your campus.

Regardless, this sounds like "they" (whomever) are holding summer rush events now so you should try to get your name out there as interested.

If you have not already done so, go to the website for the fraternity (i.e. HQ) and see if there are any notices or articles about expansion for this campus. There might be contact information there regarding rush at your campus as well.

If no specific information on the fraternity’s website, then if you have not already done so, use Google again and type “Fraternity – the name in full” + “University Name” + “Recruitment”. If that doesn’t work, you may also want to include “Summer”. And if that doesn’t work, add “September 6” as well. Hopefully, you might find a link to discussing summer rush or the upcoming colonization.

Since the Facebook group is open, as 33girl said, join the group. If one of the current members looks like he is in charge of recruitment, send him a private message via Facebook. If no one has any titles, then send a note to the administrator of the group.

Be very casual and simply note that you will be a sophomore and that you are interested in learning more about XYZ coming to MY COLLEGE. And ask if there are any events that you might attend at this time.

Since it sounds like they want to get upperclassmen now, try to attend these events. But if you are unable to do so, be sure to let them know that while you cannot attend such-n-such event, you are interested.

If you are not invited to any events over the summer, that doesn't mean they may not want you down the line. It may be that they are keeping summer rush to a limited number and already have reached that. Or no more parties are being held. Just don't be a pest about summer rush and take your lead from them.

And if fall comes around and you haven't heard anything, and you are still interested, then there should be general information on your campus regarding colonization starting in September. As a colony, I suspect they may still be interested in additional upperclassmen.

Best of luck.

This is good advice as well.

Sometimes groups want men who show an interest in joining from the get go. Other groups want to be the one to invite. This is why I suggested contacting the group since there is a Facebook page discussing recruitment now and in the fall. But if he hears nothing or is told to wait, then that is what he needs to do.

It's official for sure. We've been hearing at my school for a couple of months now that they would add a fraternity and they were "hosting" different ones and then would decide which one to add.

And it's on their website listed as a colony chapter, so that's what made me positive.

And the 4 guys in the group look like only guys from Nationals, not one guy in there from my school, so that makes me wonder if they've even contacted anybody yet.

Sounds good.

Since this is summer and they are not "on campus yet", they may not be able to actively contact guys now. It could be they may not have approval from the campus to use campus emails. As such, they may be waiting for interested parties to contact them.

Again, be casual about it and follow their lead. Do not post of the wall. Send a private note letting them know you are interested and also ask if there are any summer rush events you may attend. Again, events may not be happening now. Or events may be put on hold until enough men say they are interested.

I second the advice given above. Casually contact one of the guys privately, preferably using publicly provided contact information, and inquire about it. Just express your interest and ask for more information.

I personally co-founded a chapter (then an interest group) of an national fraternity a couple years back. It's an interesting experience, but I do have to say: it was quite scary once I found out how much personal responsibility I had for ensuring the continued success and sustainability of my organization, although I was only one of several people in the founding class. Just be prepared for that.

I also agree with the casual contact approach. A week or so before my freshman year I contacted one of the members from the national fraternity in a similar facebook group through a private message. He got back to me quickly and I was able to set up a meeting with the two members from IHQ. They explained a bit about the fraternities history, themselves, and what the process from an interest group->colony->chapter would be like. From there we continued contact and after mutual investigation I received and accepted my bid. As the former poster suggested though, it will be an interesting ride should you end up joining. It will be filled with highs and lows but is ultimately worth it and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. Just make sure you do your research and make sure you agree with what the fraternity and this colony's members stand for. It may seem obvious but still worth mentioning that if your personal values don't agree with this fraternity don't join.